Westminster School (Connecticut)

Last updated
Westminster School
Westminster School's Seal.png
Address
Westminster School (Connecticut)
995 Hopmeadow St

Simsbury
,
Connecticut
06070

United States
Information
Type Private, Boarding, Day
MottoVirtute et Numine
(Grit and Grace)
Established1888(136 years ago) (1888)
FounderWilliam Lee Cushing
CEEB code 070680
Head of schoolElaine B. White
Faculty95
Enrollment400
Student to teacher ratio5:1
Campus size210 acres
Color(s)Black and gold
  
Athletics conference Founders League
Mascot Martlet
Endowment$100,500,000
Tuition$62,475 Boarding, $47,225 Day
Website westminster-school.org

The Westminster School is a private, coeducational college-preparatory, boarding and day school located in Simsbury, Connecticut accepting around 20% of applicants. The total student population is approximately 400, and includes pupils from 25 US states and 30 countries. [1] It is also a member of the Founders League, an athletic league comprising ten college preparatory boarding schools in Connecticut and one in New York. [2]

Contents

History

Gund House, on the campus of Westminster School, is a student and faculty residence. Westminster's Gund House at sunset.jpg
Gund House, on the campus of Westminster School, is a student and faculty residence.

Westminster School was founded in 1888 as a boys' school by William Lee Cushing, a graduate of Yale University. [3] Girls were first admitted to the school in 1971. Like many boarding schools, Westminster faced difficult times in the 1970s as it competed for a shrinking pool of boarding students. When Donald Werner retired in 1993, after serving as Headmaster for 21 years, he was succeeded by Graham Cole. During the Cole years, enrollment for the school grew from 340 to 385 students, with 88 faculty.[ citation needed ]

Significant building projects undertaken include:

With Cole's retirement in 2010, Westminster appointed William V.N. Philip as its eighth Headmaster. Philip ascended to the top job after a 26-year career at Westminster as a teacher, coach, dormitory parent, college counselor, and Associate and Assistant Headmaster. [9] Philip stepped down at the end of the 2020-21 academic year.

Elaine B. White was appointed the ninth Head of School in 2021. [10] Prior to her arrival at Westminster, Elaine was Associate Head of School at The Governor’s Academy.

Faculty and staff

Headmasters

Student activities

Athletics

SportSeasonBoys/GirlsCompetitivePractice and Game Facilities
Cross Country FallB/GYesCampus trails
Field Hockey FallGYesHovey Field (lighted turf) and Sawyer Field
Soccer FallB/GYesHarrison, Michelini, Wilbraham and Tate Fields
Water Polo FallBYesHibbard Aquatic Center
Basketball WinterB/GYesPettee and New Gymnasiums
Ice Hockey WinterB/GYesJackson Hockey Rink
Squash WinterB/GYesKohn Squash Pavilion
Swimming and Diving WinterB/GYesHibbard Aquatic Center
Baseball SpringBYesOsborn Baseball Field
Golf SpringB/GYesHopmeadow Country Club and Simsbury Farms Golf Course
Lacrosse SpringB/GYesHovey Field (lighted turf), Harrison and Wilbraham Fields
Softball SpringGYesSoftball Field and Observatory Field
Tennis SpringB/GYesBriggs, Gow and Haynes Tennis Courts
Track and Field SpringB/GYesBrooks Family Track

A student tradition, dating as far back as the 1920s, is stickball, a game in which teams made up of dormitory floors and day student teams compete in a baseball-like game on the quad and athletic fields in late spring. [15] Each floor makes its own bat, usually a hockey or lacrosse stick that has been cut, or a wooden dowel of a large diameter. Generally the stickball "season" will culminate in a single-elimination tournament to crown the Hill Stickball champion.

Theater

Each year the theater program stages three productions in the Werner Centennial Theater: one dramatic production spanning the varied genre of Western theater, a musical production, and the student-directed performances, which offer advanced students the opportunity to direct. Each of these productions offers many opportunities for student involvement and leadership, both on stage and backstage. [16]

Situated at the northeastern corner of the campus’s central quadrangle, Centennial Center was upgraded in 1988 into a 30,000 square-foot building including a two-story lobby, a 400-seat, multi-use Shakespearean-style theater, music and dance studios and rehearsal room, dressing rooms, a scene shop/laboratory and other production support spaces. Particular to the “courtyard” theater form, all 400 seats are within 40 feet of the front of the stage, and there is built-in flexibility for both audience size and style of production. [17]

Notable alumni

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References

  1. ↑ "Westminster School Profile (2018-19) | Simsbury, CT". Private School Review. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  2. ↑ "Founders League". www.thefoundersleague.org. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
  3. ↑ "Westminster School - The Association of Boarding Schools - TABS". www.boardingschools.com. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  4. ↑ "Simsbury Prep School Gets Gift Of $27 Million" (Web article). The Hartford Courant. September 21, 1996.
  5. ↑ "The Athletic and Wellness Complex at Westminster School". www.gundpartnership.com. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  6. ↑ "Sherwin Health & Academic Center" Gund Partnership, Hibbard Aquatic Center, Sherwin Health & Athletic Center and Kohn Squash Pavilion
  7. ↑ "Armour Academic Center" Gund Partnership, Armour Academic Center, Westminster School
  8. ↑ "Westminster School Concludes 125th Anniversary Celebration with Dedication of Two New Residence Halls". Simsbury, CT Patch. 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  9. ↑ "Tales of the Headmasters Philip" . Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  10. ↑ "New Head of School Announced". Westminster School. 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  11. ↑ FEDERICO, HILLARY. "Simsbury's Westminster School Celebrates 125 Years". Courant Community. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  12. ↑ Francis Keyes, a Headmaster at Westminster School, Dies. New York Times, Dec 13, 1981; p.54.
  13. ↑ Buck, Rinker. "The Westminster School Names New Headmaster". The Hartford Courant. Hartford Courant. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "A Biography of Board Member William V.N. Philip". National Network of Schools in Partnership. National Network of Schools in Partnership. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  15. ↑ Baron, Peter (15 January 2010). "A Guided Tour of Westminster School". Admissions Quest. Admissions Quest. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Westminster School Drama Association to Present "Urinetown: The Musical"". Simsbury, CT Patch. 2017-01-23. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  17. ↑ "Centennial Performing Arts Center, Westminster School". Gund Partnership. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Self-Effacing William Acquavella, Who Struck Art's Biggest Deal". The New York Times. 10 May 1990. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  19. ↑ Philip, B. (2018). Westminster School Fall Magazine 2018. Westminster School Press. pp. Class Notes.
  20. ↑ "William "Bill" Sperry Beinecke". Cape Cod Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  21. ↑ "Directors and Staff |". prospect-hill.org. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  22. ↑ Vidani, Peter. "WILLIAM BEINECKE- 96". Old New York Stories. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  23. ↑ Smith, Harrison (17 July 2020). "Patrick Ellis, popular D.C. gospel broadcaster, dies at 77 of coronavirus complications". Washington Post. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  24. ↑ Courant, Hartford. "81 GRADUATE FROM WESTMINSTER SCHOOL". courant.com. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  25. ↑ "Bryan Nash Gill – The Cornwall Library". cornwalllibrary.org. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  26. ↑ "ANN SWAIN LANDRETH, EXECUTIVE, WED". The New York Times. 5 February 1984. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  27. ↑ Writers, RACHEL GOTTLIEB and VAN ALDEN FERGUSON; Courant Staff. "SIMSBURY PREP SCHOOL GETS GIFT OF $27 MILLION". courant.com. Retrieved 2018-11-22.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ↑ Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals in Khaki. Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press, Inc. pp. 214–215. ISBN   1571970886.
  29. ↑ Fitts, John (16 July 2013). "Avon's Ben Smith Brings Hockey's Famed Stanley Cup to Westminster School". Avon Patch. Patch. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  30. ↑ Leslie, Jacques (26 December 1971). "John Tunney, Kennedy's Friend In Muskie's Corner". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  31. ↑ "Gene Tunney Obituary - CA | Press Democrat". Legacy.com .

41°53′13″N72°47′48″W / 41.8869°N 72.7968°W / 41.8869; -72.7968

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